Case Study: The Fuel Spend That Didn't Add Up
A last-mile delivery fleet running seven operations saw fuel climb past 20% of revenue at a few locations. Here's what we found when we called.
This case study is based on an actual client situation. Names, locations, and identifying details have been changed to protect confidentiality.
A regional last-mile delivery company had been with RCPA for a several years, running seven separate operations across their territory. Fuel prices had been high all year, so some cost creep was expected. But when the account team pulled a routine spend review, a few of those operations stood out: fuel spend was tracking at 25% of total revenue, a level well outside what the rest of the fleet was running (at or below 20% of total revenue).
High gas prices explain some of that. They don't explain all of it.
Instead of flagging the account and moving on, the client's account manager picked up the phone. The conversation wasn't an audit, it was a quick check-in: "Here's what we're seeing, walk us through what's going on."
It turned out the client had just acquired another business and merged its fuel spend into the existing operations, without a separate account structure to track it. Not fraud. Just growth that outpaced the paperwork.
From there, resolution was fast:
RCPA sent a new application to stand up the acquired business as its own operation.
Documentation from the original application was reused where it still applied, so the client wasn't starting from a blank page.
The application went out as a mobile-friendly link by text, since most fleet owners don't have time to sit down at a desktop to fill out paperwork.
The new operation was active and on the road within days.
Why this matters: growth through acquisition is common in fleet operations, and it often outpaces the systems built to track it. A quick conversation, instead of a compliance flag, kept this client moving instead of stalled. It's also why RCPA account managers actually know fleet operations: knowing what "acquired a business mid-year" looks like on paper is what let us solve this in one phone call instead of a month of back-and-forth.
Because we mentioned credit and underwriting, here's your reminder: Results and experiences vary by account. Subject to credit review and approval. Personal guaranty required.
